Guide to Los Angeles

Guide Contents

USALoud, brash and glitzy: these are words long associated with the city of big money, big stars and big movie kudos. LA is the kind of place where people mind their own business, where nobody wants to know yours. The city can be difficult to decode, but to those in the know, LA is best interpreted as a collection of satisfyingly small towns, each with its own distinct character. Getting to know LA as a visitor means exploring it bit by bit, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. Make sure you have a beachside lunch in Santa Monica, go shopping in Beverly Hills, visit the Getty Center and stroll the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but allow one day to explore each area.

Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles

Impish humour twinkles from every corner of this Jazz Age
beauty, from the white frontage billboard shouting HELLO LA to its
rear windows throbbing under seven-foot red neon letters that
proclaim JESUS SAVES. Although the bedrooms' chromophobic design
lacks warmth and a touch of luxe, they all come with a turntable
and vinyl selection; the pricier ones have claw-foot baths and
Martin acoustic guitars. This place has electrified lower
Broadway, which now pulses with hipstermatic archness. Featured in
the
Hot List 2015. Price rating: 4/5

Chamberlain West Hollywood

The four-storey, 112-room hotel is a part of the LA-based Kor Hotel
stable, which includes the Viceroys and the Avalon in Beverly
Hills. The Chamberlain was envisaged as a 'residential
pied-à-terre' and there is something especially intimate and
discreet about it. This is partly thanks to its location, tucked
away in a residential area and partly its oh-so-minimalist decor.
The feel of a short-let studio, albeit a glamorised version, is
maintained in the bedrooms, all of which are suites. The ceilings
may be a little low, but even the smallest suite manages to feel
spacious thanks to split-level flooring, clever mirror walling and
a coolly masculine blue-and-grey colour scheme (the work of
designer Kelly Wearstler). All rooms have a balcony, flat-screen
television, gas 'log' fire and white Italian sheets on a huge,
raised double bed. The only problem is that, even if the hotel is
full, you will only ever see a handful of other guests, if any at
all, and the bistro and lounge are almost always deserted. The
classic Californian/Classic American cuisine is excellent. Price rating: 3/5

Chateau Marmont

A 1929 turreted castle with an aging lobby, quiet gardens with
brick paths, and original tiles in nearly every suite. There are 63
rooms, including 48 bedrooms and suites, two penthouses, four
garden bungalows and nine cottages. Discretion is the word among
the staff, who seem somewhat jaded by the steady stream of
celebrity guests. Free phone usage, Frette linens, chenille spreads
and refurbished 1950s GE appliances are in all the rooms. The X
factor? Bungalow 2 saw the first reading of Rebel Without a Cause;
John Belushi OD'd in Bungalow 3. Price rating: 3/5

Elan Hotel

Minutes from LA shopping institution the Beverly Center, the 49-room Elan is an exercise is 1960s modernism and was renovated fully in 2008. Room service is from Jan's Diner opposite, and there is a cheese-and-wine party every weekday evening. Price rating: 1/5

Four Seasons Los Angeles At Beverly Hills

Located in a residential neighbourhood a short walk from Rodeo
Drive, the Four Seasons is a classically opulent hotel with a
landscaped pool terrace with a cabana restaurant. The 285 rooms and
suites all have balconies and come with iPod docking stations,
laptops on request and thick terry bathrobes. Spa services are
available in-room, and the Gardens restaurant serves Californian
food with Latin American and Asian influences. Price rating: 3/5

Hotel Bel-Air

The Bel-Air, a paradisiacal walled garden ensconced in the Santa
Monica foothills, is without a doubt the most starry and exclusive
hotel in the world. Its rooms are not rooms at all, but little
chalets and cottages sequestered amid lush bougainvillaea, white
azaleas and flowering peach trees. This is where Oscar hopefuls
come to dress and preen on LA's biggest night, before heading down
the Sunset to the Academy. And it is the place they come back to
afterwards, to drown their sorrows or raise a glass to their own
glittery wonderfulness. Price rating: 3/5

The Line Hotel

Shaping up to be the ultimate perch for night owls, The Line
Hotel gives you a reason to stay in LA's vibrant Koreatown. This
388-room hotel is a restoration of a 12-storey, mid-century
modernist tower designed by Daniel Mann Johnson & Mendenhall.
Working with street-food king Roy Choi (opening two restaurants on
the premises), the hotel sets out to celebrate the 24-hour energy
of the area, home to LA's densest concentration of late-night
hangouts. A buzzing lobby bar is overseen by nightlife impresarios
the Houston brothers. The rooms above are a soothing antithesis to
the din, with cushy platform beds, views of the Hollywood Hills,
and bathrooms reminiscent of the best Korean spas. Price rating: 2/5

Le Montrose Suite Hotel

Le Montrose occupies a converted apartment building on a
residential street two blocks from Sunset Boulevard. Chic and
understated, it is hard to find and even harder to recognise when
you get there. It is the hotel equivalent of a shy celebrity in
shades and a hoodie. This is perhaps why Le Montrose is popular
with troubled music-industry types. No pap is going to snap you by
the rooftop pool - or in Privato, the appropriately named
guests-only dining room. Price rating: 2/5

Shade

Manhattan Beach is fast becoming the hippest corner of LA. This
is due in part to Shade, the beach's only boutique hotel: its Zinc
Lounge is as cool as a superconductive cucumber. The rooms are an
amazing mix of hippy-dippy and super-chic, with 'chromatherapy
lighting', a Lavazza espresso machine and a hydrotherapy tub behind
Japanese screens. Price rating: 2/5

Shutters On The Beach

This stalwart hotel overlooks the sea and is how one would
imagine Ralph Lauren's beach house to look, or your wealthy
grandmother's 1920s beach condo: all dark-wood floors and old
leather sofas. There are 186 rooms and 12 suites distributed over
seven sprawling floors. The service is gracefully pragmatic;
casually dressed doormen are armed with chilled bottles of Evian
water, whirlpool baths come with candles, and every bedside table
has a copy of a Hemingway novel. Chef Michael Reardon reigns over
upmarket One Pico restaurant; casual dining downstairs at Pedals
Café. A vast art collection, including works by Hockney and
Lichtenstein, graces the lobby and hallways. Price rating: 3/5

Sunset Tower Hotel

The chunky, curvy Art Deco contours of the Sunset Tower Hotel
make it look like a giant Bakelite wireless set. It is a striking
building by any standard, and Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne and Frank
Sinatra are among those who once called it home. Back then it was
an apartment block; now it is a fine hotel, recently renovated and
refurbished by Jeff Klein for a 21st-century clientele. In the
basement is the Argyle Salon & Spa, where you can have the
Hawaiian 'Organic Renew Ritual' or a long-lasting 'Brazilian
Blowout' hair-smoothing treatment.

The Ambrose

The Ambrose is decorated in English country-house style with Asian-inspired elements. There are Italian linens in the 77 rooms and Aveda products in the bathrooms. Breakfasts are delicious, with a huge selection of herbal teas, and a London taxi is on hand to ferry guests around. Price rating: 2/5

The Avalon Hotel

A tribute to 1950s Californian poolside living, the Avalon is
divided into three buildings: the Beverly (26 rooms, two suites),
the Canon (15 rooms) and the Olympic, which has 43 rooms plus the
bar, restaurant and hourglass-shaped pool. Price rating: 2/5

The Beverly Hills Hotel

Right on Sunset Boulevard, this pale-pink, palm-fringed hotel is
a favourite with Hollywood A-listers for a reason. Stars love this
204- room property for its old-fashioned grandeur, as well as its
friendly and discreet service. And the customised range of
anti-ageing treatments in the La Prairie spa no doubt hold huge
appeal for those who spend their lives in front of the cameras.
Three restaurants cater to all culinary desires and the laid-back
Polo Lounge serves seasonal Californian cuisine and afternoon tea
to an impeccably dressed clientele.The 23 garden bungalows are the
ultimate in film-star glamour. Liz Taylor honeymooned here with six
of her seven husbands. Two new Presidential Bungalows are set to
open in March. Featured in the Gold List
2011.Price rating: 4/5

The Crescent Hotel

A palm-tree-flanked villa on the outside (built in 1926); sleek
minimalism on the inside. The retro-modern lounge bar and patio
restaurant are popular. All 35 rooms come with selected CDs, iPods
and White Company bath products. Price rating: 2/5

The Mondrian

This celebrated Ian Schrager hotel re-opened after an extensive
makeover in 2008. The new design was masterminded by Benjamin
Noriega Ortiz, and it draws inspiration from the Southern
Californian coast. People still flock to the Sky Bar and its huge
poolside mattresses are drenched with pretty people, while the Agua
Spa has a Zen vibe in the middle of the city. Asia de Cuba serves
fusion food in a room designed by Philippe Starck. Price rating: 3/5

The Peninsula Beverly Hills

This 'French Renaissance' palace is well-placed on Little Santa
Monica in the heart of the Beverly Hills shopping district, around
the corner from Rodeo Drive. There are 196 rooms, including 36
suites and 16 'villa' suites in seven separate buildings arranged
around courtyards. The service is efficient and demure, suited
pageboys deliver sundries upon request. The spa offers facials,
massages and the 'wet room' has a hydrotherapy bath with 150
underwater jets. Repeat guests get monogrammed pillowcases, and
everyone gets use of the hotel's chauffeured Rolls Royce. Price rating: 3/5

The Standard Downtown LA

André Balazs (of New York's Mercer hotel, LA's Chateau Marmont
and The Standard Hollywood) has given the Los Angeles business
district a jolt. This cluster of bank and insurance company
buildings has always been deserted after 5pm but now, at around
8pm, LA's beautiful young things begin filling the streets around
Balazs' hotel, hoping to be admitted to its roof bar: a playpen
complete with infinity pool and movies projected on nearby
buildings. Balazs has retained the former office building's 1960s
corporate-modern decor and added a few ironic touches: the bedrooms
are cheerful and spare (the bed is on a grey-carpeted platform),
with floor-to-ceiling glass framed vistas. The staff are
California-cheerful and remarkably efficient; call room service and
the same person who took your order - this is hotel policy -
delivers it. Price rating: 2/5

W Los Angeles Westwood

This was the first five-star hotel in lush Westwood and resembles an ivy-covered UCLA dormitory outside, with functional chic decor inside, including a waterfall lit by fibre-optics that flows day and night. There are 258 suites over 16 floors, including 63 three-room office suites, with printer/fax/scanner and high-speed internet access. There are extensive views, north to the Santa Monica mountains and the Getty Center, and south to Culver City. The best thing? The poolside cabanas from where you can order massages. There are cotton piqué bathrobes and Aveda products in every room. Price rating: 2/5

Ojai Valley Inn & Spa

Most tourists don't venture off Highway 1 and into the Santa
Ynez Mountains, which makes Ojai a very special place for those in
the know and perfect for a short break outside LA. Just off Ojai's
main street, the long driveway makes you feel as though you were
miles from anywhere. The resort has 308 rooms and suites: we loved
the spa penthouse, which has floor-to-ceiling windows, a mezzanine
den, two balconies and a rooftop hot tub with views across the
resort. The staff are approachable, friendly helpful without being
imposing, and the activities - from the on-site spa and golf course
to tailor-made trips based around everything from fishing to wine
classes - really set the resort apart. The food in the Oak Grill
comes highly recommended and is the perfect accompaniment to the
sunset over the Topatopa Mountains. Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
featured in
The Gold List 2010. Price rating: 4/5